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January 17
1800s *1885 - The New York Clipper reports that Paul Hines cancels his Washington Monument ball-drop exhibition. "The experiment of trying to catch a ball thrown from the top of the Washington Monument has proved to be a failure. The ball reaches the ground with such great speed that it indents the ground almost as much as a heavy cannon ball would dropped from a proportionate height. The fact is that, independently of the difficulty of judging the ball balling from such a height, the speed is too great to allow of any one holding it when it nears the ground." *1888 - The Kansas City Cowboys franchise is admitted to the American Association to replace the New York Metropolitans. Even though the Mets were bought out by the Brooklyn Grays, their franchise is only considered suspended until suitable playing facilities in Manhattan can be found. 1900s-1920s *1915 - According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the American League hometown franchise will now be known as the Indians replacing the nickname the Naps – a change due to Napoleon Lajoie, the player-manager for whom the team is presently named, is leaving for the Philadelphia Athletics. Team owner Charles W. Somers asked the city's baseball writers, who in turn asked their readers for suggestions, chose the new name to honor Louis (Chief) Sockalexis, who played for the Cleveland Spiders of the National League from 1897-1899 becoming the first Native American to play in the Major Leagues. *1916 - The New York Giants purchase three stars from the Federal League: pitcher Fred Anderson, outfielder Benny Kauff, and catcher Bill Rariden. *1922 - Benny Kauff's suit for an injunction to restrain the decision to keep him out of baseball is rejected by the appellate court. Kauff was acquitted of auto theft in 1921, but Commissioner Landis still barred him from baseball, stating, "That acquittal was one of the worst miscarriages of justice that ever came under my observation." 1930s-1960s *1934 - National League MVP Carl Hubbell come to contract terms with the New York Giants. Hubell, who won league honors unanimously in 1933, will earn $18,000 for the upcoming season. *1936 - The New York Yankees trade Jimmy DeShong and Jesse Hill to the Washington Senators for Bump Hadley and Roy Johnson. *1937 - The Cleveland Indians receive Moose Solters, Ivy Andrews and Lyn Lary from the St. Louis Browns, for Joe Vosmik, Bill Knickerbocker and Oral Hildebrand. The three departing Brownies are termed "real playboys" by manager Rogers Hornsby. Solters and Andrews were also the RBI and ERA leaders for St. Louis. *1939 - The New York Yankees elect Ed Barrow as president. Barrow replaces Jacob Ruppert, who died four days earlier. Barrow will remain as the Yankees president until 1945, when the team is bought by Dan Topping and Del Webb. *1952 - Detroit Tigers owner Walter Briggs dies at the age of 74. His son will succeed him in the presidency. *1953: **The Boston Braves send Andy Pafko back to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Roy Hartsfield and $50,000. **Martin Aarjan Jole, a Dutch player, gets a tryout with a Cincinnati Reds farm club in Columbia, South Carolina. The 22-year-old, reputed to be a power hitter, wrote to Rogers Hornsby, the new Reds manager, asking for a tryout. 1970s-1990s *1970: **''The Sporting News'' names San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays as its “Player of the Decade” for the 1960s. Mays beats out the likes of Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in the voting. **ML teams select a record 357 players in the January phase of the annual free-agent draft, including top pick Chris Chambliss, by Cleveland, and Chris Speier. Fred Lynn, drafted by the Yankees in the first round, will not sign. **In the Puerto Rican League, Fred Beene of Santurce pitches a 6–0 no-hitter over Arecibo. *1977 - The Kansas City Royals release veteran outfielder Tommy Davis, ending his 18-year career. In 1962, Davis led the National League in batting average with a .346 mark, and in RBI with 153. In 1963, Davis again won the batting crown, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers to capture the World Series. Two years later, he fractured an ankle, curtailing his production for the rest of his career. *1979 - Danny O'Brien signs a contract as president and chief executive officer of the Seattle Mariners, nine days after resigning as the Rangers GM. *1983 - Bob Horner agrees to a 4-year contract with the Atlanta Braves that will pay him up to $6 million, including $400,000 in bonuses if he keeps his weight below 215 pounds. *1989 - Free agent Claudell Washington leaves the Yankees to sign a three-year contract with the Angels. 2000s *2000 - Free agent catcher Dave Nilsson signs a contract to play with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese League. This will allow him to play for Australia in the upcoming Olympics in Sydney. *2002: **Commissioner Bud Selig indicates Washington, D.C. area is a 'prime candidate' to get a team if a franchise relocates in the near future. The nation's capital has two lost major league teams, the original franchise shifted to Minnesota and became the Twins in 1961 and were replaced by the expansion Senators who moved to Texas a decade later becoming the Rangers. **Avoiding arbitration, OF/1B Darin Erstad and the Anaheim Angels agree one-year contract worth $6.25 million. The Angels also obtain designated hitter Brad Fullmer from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Brian Cooper. **OF Jermaine Dye agrees to a three-year extension worth $32 million to stay with the Oakland Athletics. Oakland is counting on Dye to fill the void created by the departure of Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees. *2003 **The Cincinnati Reds give pitcher Danny Graves a three-year deal avoiding arbitration. The former Reds closer is slated to join the starting rotation this season. **Despite his ban to the US Hall of Fame, Pete Rose is nominated for induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose banged out his 4,000th career hit, a double off pitcher Jerry Koosman, as a member of the 1984 Montreal Expos squad. Rose was named by the chairman of the newly formed Canadian Baseball League, Tony Riviera. **Gold Glove outfielder Torii Hunter, who hit .289 with 29 home runs and 94 RBI in 2002, agrees to a four-year, $32 million deal to stay with the Minnesota Twins. *2005: **With the Houston Astros offering $13.5 million, Roger Clemens asks for $22 million in salary arbitration. The amount, which would make Clemens the richest paid pitcher in major league history, surpasses the previous record amount submitted for arbitration of $18.5 million by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in 2001. **Former major leaguer Ray Cunningham celebrates his 100th birthday. The oldest living player, who made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931, played in 14 games during two seasons hitting .154 in 26 plate appearances. *2006: **Third baseman Joe Crede and the Chicago White Sox agreed to a one-year contract worth $2,675,000 and avoided salary arbitration. **The Texas Rangers and All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira agreed on a two-year, $15.4 million contract, avoiding salary arbitration this year and next. Texas also agreed with catcher Rod Barajas to a $3.2 million, one-year contract. **New York Mets pitcher Víctor Zambrano agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract, a raise of $900,000. **Pitcher John Lackey agreed to a $3.76 million, one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, bypassing salary arbitration. **Second baseman Marcus Giles and the Atlanta Braves avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $3.85 million, one-year contract. **Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Oliver Pérez avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.9 million. **The Cleveland Indians and reliever David Riske avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.8 million contract. **After witnessing an exodus of leading players, the Florida Marlins secured the services of ace starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis on a one-year deal worth a reported $4.35 million. **The Houston Astros and slick-fielding shortstop Adam Everett avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.9 million, one-year contract. **Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Mark Hendrickson agreed to a $1.95 million, one-year contract, avoiding arbitration. **Austin Kearns avoided salary arbitration with the Cincinnati Reds by agreeing to a $1.85 million, one-year contract. **The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to one-year contracts with new first baseman Lyle Overbay and pitcher Scott Downs, avoiding salary arbitration with both players. **Team USA unveiled an All-Star line-up for the World Baseball Classic, with a roster that includes slugger Barry Bonds and future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. Births *1878 - Harry Bay, outfielder (d. 1952) *1890 - Louis Santop, Hall of Fame Negro League catcher (d. 1942) *1905 - Ray Cunningham, infielder (d. 2005) *1911 - Hank Leiber, All-Star outfielder (d. 1993) *1915 - Luman Harris, player and manager (d. 1996) *1915 - Mayo Smith, manager (d. 1977) *1935 - Dick Brown, catcher (d. 1970) *1917 - Jocko Thompson, pitcher (d. 1988) *1931 - Don Zimmer, All-Star infielder and manager *1944 - Denny Doyle, infielder *1952 - Pete LaCock, infielder *1952 - Darrell Porter, All-Star catcher (d. 2002) *1953 - Mark Littell, pitcher *1954 - Jerry Turner, outfielder *1960 - Chili Davis, All-Star outfielder/designated hitter *1964 - Jeff Tabaka, catcher *1971 - Tyler Houston, infielder/catcher *1972 - Walt McKeel, catcher *1975 - Brad Fullmer, infielder/designated hitter *1975 - Scott Mullen, pitcher *1977 - Rob Bell, pitcher *1978 - Mark Malaska, pitcher *1980 - Mike Rabelo, catcher Deaths *1952 - Walter Briggs, executive (b. 1877) *1976 - Ed Kinsella, pitcher (b. 1882) *1993 - Nick Polly, infielder (b. 1917) *2004 - Harry Brecheen, All-Star pitcher (b. 1914) *2004 - Hersh Freeman, pitcher (b. 1928) *2006 - Seth Morehead, pitcher (b. 1934)